End in sight for construction at local school

Grade 7 students Thomas Kennaley, Noah Spaulding and Ty Lecreux make quesadillas in the new Family Studies classroom at Dr. W.A. MacLeod Consolidated. CAROL DUNN – THE NEWS

<p>Dr. W.A. MacLeod Consolidated vice principal Guy Aucoin stands outside the school where a new entrance is being constructed. The school has been undergoing renovations to accommodate students from Highland Consolidated Middle School, which merged with the former elementary school several years ago.</p>

RIVERTON – Renovations continue at Dr. W.A. MacLeod Consolidated in Riverton and should be finished by the end of March.

“Everything is on track to be completed,” said Debbie Buott-Matheson, spokesperson for the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board.

The gymnasium was completed before the holidays and used for the Christmas concert.

“We were happy to get the gym back,” said vice principal Guy Aucoin, adding that for about two months in the fall, students had to be bused to Sharon St. John United Church and the Nova Scotia Community College for physical education classes.

Renovations to the gym included installing a new floor and reducing the size of the stage to make the area larger to accommodate middle school programming.

Work on classrooms and the installation of classroom windows were completed some time ago, said Buott-Matheson. As well, repairs and paving on the parking lot and bus loop have been finished, washroom renovations done, work on the electrical and ventilation systems completed, new boilers installed, and repairs made to the water system.

The first two phases of the project have been completed, and the third is now underway, which includes ventilation in the kitchen area, a seminar room and constructing a new entrance.

Buott-Matheson said the new entrance will be located in the front of the school, whereas now students, staff and members of the public have to enter the school from the side of the building. The office will be moved from the second floor to the new entrance on the first floor, which will provide more security, and a better location within the school. “It puts the office in more direct access,” she said.

She said because much of the renovation work hasn’t been visible, it may have appeared that no progress was being made. “It was happening internally, so people couldn’t see it.”

The CCRSB planned for the renovations to take two years, and Buott-Matheson acknowledges that “it’s been a lengthy process for students and staff.”

The renovations are being done to accommodate students from Highland Consolidated in Westville, which merged with the Riverton school after Highland was closed because of health concerns. About $3.8 million as been allotted for the upgrades.

“The renovations were necessary to allow the school to physically offer the requirements of the middle school programming,” said Buott-Matheson.

The school is 40 years old, and when it opened in 1975, enrolment was 721 students in Primary to Grade 6. The number of students for the 2015-2016 school year is 490 in Primary to Grade 8.

Cover photo by Carol Dunn: Grade 7 students Thomas Kennaley, Noah Spaulding and Ty Lecreux make quesadillas in the new Family Studies classroom at Dr. W.A. MacLeod Consolidated.

Renovations

Phase 1:

Included installation of exterior windows in classrooms that did not have them (following the renovation of the larger classrooms), replacement of a section of the roof and the installation of a divider curtain for the gymnasium.

Phase 2:

Included the physical addition of a new Tech-Ed and Family Studies space, washroom renovations, as well as heating and ventilation upgrades.

Phase 3:

Involves the relocation of the administration office from the second to the first floor, completion of a seminar room, ventilation upgrades for the kitchen, a new entrance, new windows above the entrance doors, renovations to the gymnasium, construction of a new playground area, and paving a new student drop-off and parking area.

“Everything is on track to be completed,” said Debbie Buott-Matheson, spokesperson for the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board.

The gymnasium was completed before the holidays and used for the Christmas concert.

“We were happy to get the gym back,” said vice principal Guy Aucoin, adding that for about two months in the fall, students had to be bused to Sharon St. John United Church and the Nova Scotia Community College for physical education classes.

Renovations to the gym included installing a new floor and reducing the size of the stage to make the area larger to accommodate middle school programming.

Work on classrooms and the installation of classroom windows were completed some time ago, said Buott-Matheson. As well, repairs and paving on the parking lot and bus loop have been finished, washroom renovations done, work on the electrical and ventilation systems completed, new boilers installed, and repairs made to the water system.

The first two phases of the project have been completed, and the third is now underway, which includes ventilation in the kitchen area, a seminar room and constructing a new entrance.

Buott-Matheson said the new entrance will be located in the front of the school, whereas now students, staff and members of the public have to enter the school from the side of the building. The office will be moved from the second floor to the new entrance on the first floor, which will provide more security, and a better location within the school. “It puts the office in more direct access,” she said.

She said because much of the renovation work hasn’t been visible, it may have appeared that no progress was being made. “It was happening internally, so people couldn’t see it.”

The CCRSB planned for the renovations to take two years, and Buott-Matheson acknowledges that “it’s been a lengthy process for students and staff.”

The renovations are being done to accommodate students from Highland Consolidated in Westville, which merged with the Riverton school after Highland was closed because of health concerns. About $3.8 million as been allotted for the upgrades.

“The renovations were necessary to allow the school to physically offer the requirements of the middle school programming,” said Buott-Matheson.

The school is 40 years old, and when it opened in 1975, enrolment was 721 students in Primary to Grade 6. The number of students for the 2015-2016 school year is 490 in Primary to Grade 8.

Cover photo by Carol Dunn: Grade 7 students Thomas Kennaley, Noah Spaulding and Ty Lecreux make quesadillas in the new Family Studies classroom at Dr. W.A. MacLeod Consolidated.

Renovations

Phase 1:

Included installation of exterior windows in classrooms that did not have them (following the renovation of the larger classrooms), replacement of a section of the roof and the installation of a divider curtain for the gymnasium.

Phase 2:

Included the physical addition of a new Tech-Ed and Family Studies space, washroom renovations, as well as heating and ventilation upgrades.

Phase 3:

Involves the relocation of the administration office from the second to the first floor, completion of a seminar room, ventilation upgrades for the kitchen, a new entrance, new windows above the entrance doors, renovations to the gymnasium, construction of a new playground area, and paving a new student drop-off and parking area.